Recently, the world famous digital interactive drama Sophie's Diary has officially launched its Chinese version in Beijing.

The drama was born in Portugal and has now been broadcasted in 10 countries. The Chinese version of Sophie's Diary is the first drama series that doesn't rely on TV. The writers of the soap opera will be collecting ideas from internet to decide what will be on next episode. For each episode, there will be two different versions, named A and B and each being broadcasted by 2 different platforms. The first will be on Sina.com and the other will be on Youku.com. Sony, Clinique and 51job are the strategic partners.

In the meantime, who will be the actress in the leading role is still a question mark. Nine young girls are competing for this position and will be judged by all the interested netizens.

The Chinese version will start shooting when the Chinese Sophie is born. The first episode is expected to be on air by December, 2008.

Research by Emma Zhao, R3 Beijing,
Know more here:http://www.youku.com/about/news/id_157.html

HSBC Bank (China) Co has launched its debit cards in 17 Chinese mainland cities from this November 17th.

HSBC China card holders will also be able to use their cards at China UnionPay Co's domestic and overseas networks in about 50 markets after a deal signed yesterday. And HSBC-branded ATMs in 40 markets will also accept the new debit cards launched in China. The combined HSBC-UnionPay network offers the most extensive ATM access with a debit card issued by any foreign bank on the mainland, the company said.

"Our cooperation with UnionPay extensively broadens the geographic service coverage of our debit cards, delivering value-added convenience for our retail customers in China. We are very pleased to be a partner of UnionPay," said Richard Yorke, president and chief executive officer of HSBC China.

HSBC China's debit cards are able to link with up to three bank accounts, including a yuan account and up to two foreign-currency accounts. Without annual fee charges, HSBC China debit cards allow holders to withdraw cash at ATMs domestically and abroad, make account enquiries or transfers using ATMs and make purchases at shops through UnionPay's point-of-sale machines in Chinese mainland and abroad.

Research by Chen Shenglin, R3 Beijing;
Know more here:http://business.sohu.com/20081118/n260706499.shtml

A report by CCTV into medical malpractice in China indicated some consumers may have found their way to improperly licensed or unlicensed private clinics and health centers via advertisements that came up when they searched for health-related topics on Baidu.

American Depositary Shares of Baidu fell US$44.80, or 25 percent, to close at US$134.09. Earlier, the stock traded as low as US$130.51 - its cheapest price since May 2007.

Baidu, which holds a 70 percent share of the search market in China, removed the ads for medical practitioners that were considered questionable over the weekend.

Baidu acknowledged in an online statement that this is true and it has to put more focus toward sales practices, not just its technology.

Research by Emma Zhao,R3 Beijing;
Know more here:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Baidu-shares-sink-analyst-apf-13600983.html